TORONTO -- It was the biggest crowd of media and cameras Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has faced all season, crowded around the face of the Blue Jays on Friday afternoon as he tried to right the week’s wrongs.
Guerrero wanted to apologize for comments he made earlier in the week in a Spanish-language interview with Veronica Batista, in which he’d stated his belief that he was being paid his $500 million contract for what he’d done in the past, not what he’d do in the future.
“I just gave it some thought, and I felt like the comments I made the other day were not really what I wanted to say,” Guerrero said. “I felt that everyone, my fans and everyone, deserves an apology from me.”
If Guerrero held a .925 OPS with 40 home runs this season, perhaps that clip wouldn’t have gone quite as viral, but he’s hit just nine homers this season and the 77-82 Blue Jays have already been eliminated from the postseason, a complete disappointment after entering the season with World Series expectations. The message itself already landed poorly with fans, and Guerrero’s timing was gas on the fire.
Chronologically, this is how the past few days have played out:
Guerrero’s initial comments in the interview, which went viral:
“I want people to understand one thing,” Guerrero said in Spanish. “The money they gave me wasn’t for what I’m going to do. It was for what I already did. They didn’t pay me because I’m going to hit 40 [homers] every year. They paid me for what I already accomplished. People are confused about that, but I think the same way they do. Like, sometimes I even say to myself: 'Bro, they gave you all that money and you’re out here doing nothing. I try.'”
Wednesday in Baltimore, when Guerrero was asked if he regretted this:
"No, I don't regret myself. I'm not lying with what I say,” Guerrero said through interpreter Hector Lebron. “I understand some fans, they don't understand the way and what I was trying to say specifically, but what I said is the way I feel."
Friday in Toronto, when Guerrero met with the media:
“The main reason I’m here is because I regret my comments and what I said the other day,” Guerrero said through Lebron. “That’s what I’m here for. The main reason is because I feel, from my heart, that my fans and my teammates need an apology from me. That’s why I’m here. I am also here to tell everyone that I am going to continue working hard to make my contract a great one.”
Guerrero has also met with his manager, John Schneider, and spoke with his teammates to apologize for his comments and the unwanted attention they’ve brought.
Schneider has known and managed Guerrero since his teenage years, and while he’s acknowledged that the timing of this is an issue, he also views it as a learning experience for Guerrero. The 27-year-old has been the star of every team he’s played on since he was a boy growing up in the Dominican Republic, and leadership comes naturally with that level of talent, but now Guerrero is being tested as a leader -- for one of the first times in his career -- amid failure.
“I think that he can be misunderstood sometimes. He is one of the best teammates that I’ve ever seen,” Schneider said. “He definitely puts in the work to post every day. Some things can get lost in translation, for lack of a better way to say it. He’s misunderstood, maybe, at times. He can be an easy target because of the contract and everything, but what matters most to him is what people here think.
“Then, it’s pretty apparent, especially with today, that he wants the fans who support him and will continue to support him over a long period of time to understand what he’s trying to say.”
Guerrero also leaned on his father, Vladimir Guerrero Sr., throughout this. The two talk regularly throughout the season, covering baseball and everything else the young Guerrero has taken on. When his father heard about this, he made it very clear what should be done.
“About the comments from the other day, he basically told me that what I did was wrong, and to make sure that I do what I’m doing right now, to give all of my fans an apology,” Guerrero said.
With that out of the way -- perhaps fully, this time -- Guerrero was back in the lineup Friday, batting third to open the Blue Jays’ final series of the 2026 season.
Keegan Matheson